Jal had remained silent throughout the course of events – from Maximus’ tirade against Valentine to Dapple taking the gladiator’s measure and, in far from uncertain terms, assured the big man that he could fit through the tunnel – though the spellbinder’s mind had been quite busy. His pale eyes had continually scoured the surrounding landscape and peered, more than once, into the dark maw of the tunnel in search of Wynter (or, as far as the rest knew, watching the passings of other spirits who may have lurked here). Either way, there were no spirits to be found anywhere and that made Jal, too, more than a bit uncomfortable. Wynter had never left him alone for this long and, for some reason, he found the prospect of entering this tower without her very unsettling. Furthermore, the absence of so much as a single, wandering soul in a place such as this sent a chill through the urchin mage as much as any of the other spirits they had passed on their way here would have likely chilled the others. Actually, Jal was almost thankful that his friend had voiced his concerns as, if nothing else, it had served to distract the weird little mage from brooding over Wynter’s fate and made him focus on the task at hand.

She’d not want you troubling over her when there are other, more pressing matters to attend, he told himself.

When all was said and done, and Maximus had apparently resigned himself to proceeding through the tunnel, Jal patted the man on the shoulder, offered a reassuring smile, and, taking his place in the marching order laid out by Char, entered the sewer. Lingering within the confines of Kilgrim’s silence spell also made Jal a bit uncomfortable – If this magic can mute the sounds of clattering armor and weapons it can also keep you from uttering your own spells, can’t it? – especially when he realized that the walls of this tunnel were eerily reminiscent of the corridors in the Master’s tower. His fingers curled tightly around his staff as they proceeded, relaxing only when they had entered the hidden room that the boy had discovered and Kilgrim’s spell had expired.

Jal winced and almost cringed at the strong scent of pine cleaner that permeated the room and, as he watched Dapple scrutinize what appeared to be the only other door to exit this room, the formula for a Wraithform spell sprang to life in his mind and the associated tattoo he had scribed on his forearm just a few weeks prior tingled with anticipation. He had taught himself the spell in hopes of brining himself closer to Wynter. The thought that he could become as incorporeal as she was had intrigued him and, after many of the girl’s requests for him to follow her only to see her pass through a more or less solid wall, he had decided that, even if the spell couldn’t bring him closer to his love, it did have its uses. And now,he thought, glancing up at the ceiling in response to the noises coming from above, would certainly be one of those times. So, rather than chasing the spell from the forefront of his mind, he allowed the formula to linger. He didn’t call it forth, though, nor did he offer to just yet. Better not to disturb the lad in his study of the door…and better yet not to go wandering of on one’s own in this place, in wraithform or not, especially considering the intensity of that arcane wave that had passed over them earlier.

((OOC: Tingly, nervous, where is that ghost girl?!?! Jal’s about to crawl out of his skin on one hand, but on the other, he’s trying to keep a few steps ahead and is preparing spells as he thinks of them… if Da Moon needs a detect magic or some such cast on the door (or whatever), Jal will offer it up, of course… other ideas brewing, too, just waiting to see what’s what…))

The door out of this room has no lock, and upon a examination from Dapple, she realizes that although not trapped, the door is not hinged either. In fact, with the smallest amount of pressure, the old door would have come crashing down into the hallway.

She listens carefully, the magically induced silence of Kilgim now ended. The sounds from above are distracting but to Dapple’s elven ears, there is no sounds coming from beyond the door.

(assuming someone will open it carefully)

The layout before you is what you had expected from Gwanele’s map. Before you is an open area about 20 x 20 feet. There is a good solid door to the immediate right of you, on the north wall. There is a corridor to the south with a number of doors in various states of decay. It looks as though the rooms and cells to the south have not been used by the current inhabitants. This room itself has no furnishing or décor of any sort, other than a pattern of mold on the far wall that resembles a man’s head with very big hair.

The smell of pine is stronger here. It permeates the nose so much so that you feel you can taste the scent. At first you thought it might be a cleaning liquid, but this is stronger than that, like a concentrated smell of pine sap.

Dapple listens to the north door and checks it. It is not locked, but this one is indeed hinged. There is a fair amount of rust on the bolts too, sending suspicions through Dapple and Char that the door will creek loudly when opened.

Maximas was without a doubt the happiest of the party upon entering the room and leaving the confines of the passage below was ready for anything.
With Dapple’s check of the door and her all clear the Ex-Gladiator moved to open it as carefully and quietly as possible.

Before him he could see was an open area about 20 x 20 feet, with a solid looking door to the immediate right of him, on the north wall. Next he could see was a corridor to the south with a number of doors in various states of decay. As he at first gazed upon the cells anger seemed to begin its rise once again inside him but with a deep breath he held it in check. With his intimate knowledge of such Maximas could easily tell that the rooms and cells to the south had not been used by the current inhabitants, or any other, for quite some time.

Turning to the others he relayed this to the rest then waited for the first of them to pass by him.....

(OOC: Sorry, but it seems a little odd that Maximus would push past the two at the door and be the one to open it, so I hope this fits without changing anyone’s intentions)

The first door had not been really a door, just as the wall had not been truly a wall. Perhaps it had originally been designed to fall inwards with the lightest of touches (and in a flash, Dapple understood: the hidden passage had been for swift escape), but time and neglect had shifted its balance, so that it threatened to fall outwards.

Dapple took a swift look around and noted that the big gladiator was closest, so eager to be out of the passage that he was close to crowding Char and Dapple at the door (though he hid the fear well, Dapple gave him that much). Catching the man’s eyes, Dapple indicated the door, and he moved into position with a nod. She slid a blade between door and frame, and gave a tug, instead of a push. It was enough to shift the door, and it tottered inwards. The gladiator caught it, balancing it’s weight against a massive shoulder, and lifted it easily out of the frame to prop it against a wall.

Dapple gave him a nod and a tight grin that flashed briefly, then melted away into grim lines, the matter forgotten as she faced another room. Padding quietly around the room, she gave it a quick once over before focusing on the door, Char close behind. Nothing could be heard beyond it, but the sad state of the bolts spoke ill of their chances to pass undetected. She removed a glove to probe the rust with a blunt finger, but touch confirmed what eyes suspected: the bolt was rusted fast, and would need brute force to draw. The noise such an action would make would be loud indeed.

With gestures, she drew Char back to where the others were clustered, not wanting to speak close to the door. When all eyes were on her, she related her findings. “I have oil and such to treat a squeaky hinge, but not anything that can undo years of damp. That door’ll only come free with a lot of noise, so we’d best prepare to switch from sneaking to moving fast.”

Her mouth clamped shut before the words barely escaped, and she waited on the reactions and ideas of the others.

Char watched Dapple carefully as she held her ear a small breadth from the door. He looked for any sort of ripple in her calm, anything that would indicate something waiting for them on the other side. He'd come to know some of the patterns in that calm water--like reading the movement of fish below the surface of a lake--over the time they'd been travelling together and he relied on that little insight now that the situation necessitated silence. Her shadowy gaze met his blazing blue eyes for a moment and he knew things were clear... for the time being. Glancing back at the rest, he swore to himself as he nearly put his forehead in the gladiator's chest. Casting a baleful glance at the big man he arched just enough to see the others and indicated that they should come forward. In that time, Dapple had made motion for Maximus to help her with the door. There was a moment of tense realization as to what Dapple had discovered when she slipped the dagger through in one quick, smooth motion before tugging backward. Char felt his breath catch in his throat as the rickety old thing fell inward only to be caught by Maximus with naught a sound.

Glancing at Arian, Char received the man's distracted nod and took it to mean that they should continue forward without hesitation. Dapple had already taken a peak around the nearly cord-thin doorframe by the time the ranger had reached her and the two of them quickly surmised that the path ahead was void of visible danger. Following the little rogue, Char glanced back at the waiting party, wondering how long Arien would remain with them before splitting off to try and free Alloryn on his own. It didn't make sense taking that route when their strength lay in their numbers, but Char had never had much luck talking sense to the knight. It had mostly ended with Arien looking over at Alloryn confused and momentarily dismayed by the ranger's deep backwoods accent. At least, that's how it was previously. What had made him chose Char to lead should he decide to rush off after family? If Char had been forced to make that decision he'd have gone with Kilgim.

Char hadn't been daydreaming while he was considering their situation. He'd been watching Dapple at work and making his own assumption of what would happen with those hinges and bolt. When they moved back to the rest of the party he nodded his agreement and was about to remain quiet when a thought occurred to him.

What seemed like ages past he'd joined Eftari and three other men on a scouting expedition into a rather dense arm of the Gnarley Forest. They'd been on the hunt for some guerilla fighters working a supply line and after a time Eftari had said that they could go no further due to a rather impenatrable wall made from natural undergrowth. Char had determined that the tracks of those they sought led right through this wall, but they'd been unable to penetrate it and after hours of searching, discovered that the wall continued in both directions for a seemingly endless time. It just so happened that one of the men who had accompanied them--Wha' was 'is name? Sho' Niri, er somet'in' o' da sor'--was a spellcaster and had used a spell through which he could see over the wall and to what lay beyond. It had been a most useful spell, showing the location of the troop. The memory was fading, as were most of what he still held close having to do with his old mentor. Time was a very good thief.

"'Fore we go knockin' down da doors, makin' a rucko', need t' ask da tree o' yous if'n ya 'ave any scryin' magic t' see beyon' da door." Char paused, blinked, and then said, "Well, do ya?"

This place is revolting. The scent of pine, oil and forced cleanlyness added naught but more vileness to this area. Was this simply a spell by the Reds to throw their senses off? Adrian knew he has such power, so obviously the incapable Reds had it.

Valentine was characteristically calm and collected, with an air of arrogance seemingly palpable. Something about the chance to drive his sword through one of his former collegues drove him to continue. He allowed the more skilled ahead of him, Dapple and Char, to scour the area for threats.

He allowed the more bulky ahead of him, Maximus, to forge ahead and soak up any danger.

He allowed the more defensive, protective, Kilgrim to silence their movements. All the while Adrian was preparing himself, for the chance to lash out and deal some revenge a long time in the making to these evil people. He drew upon the very discipline that was unwillingly forced upon him, to keep from launching a full out assult against the inhabitants of this keep. He had to wait.

Adrian reached into his pack, and grabbed Killer, seeing what his reaction would be to the smell.

Finally, his time to shine neared. Well, almost.

"'Fore we go knockin' down da doors, makin' a rucko', need t' ask da tree o' yous if'n ya 'ave any scryin' magic t' see beyon' da door." Char paused, blinked, and then said, "Well, do ya?"

"Reconissence was never my forte. I do have the means to detect any traces of the Reds beyond there. One moment."

Valentine sits Killer upon his shoulder, and begins weaving his hands in a manner he has not done very often. Surely Jal and possibly others would understand what he is doing. He plans to aim the invisible cone of detect magic through the door, wall, roof, and any other area he can in the time of his spell's duration.

Dapple had lowered her hood so that nothing interfered with her hearing, so it was only overgrown blond curls that obscured the stony glare of grey eyes. Once again, Valentine had been called upon for assistance, along with his mystical brethren, and once again, the stuck up lay about acted like it was indulging them in a silly request. "Not my forte,¨ the thief thought contemptuously to herself, "his only real skill appears to be doing as little as possible was looking down his nose at the rest of us. Another noble¡¦s brat is not what we need. I hope he catches a bad case of wounded soon.¨ Considering he chose to wave a sword instead of a spell at those bugs earlier, perhaps you will get your wish soon enough. He may be the fraud, not Spellbinder.
Dapple shook her head, eyes narrowing in annoyance, and paced around the room while letting the others discuss magical scouting¨. Even though the pine fumes irritated her nose, she took deliberate sniffs here and there, trying to figure out if the strong smell was intended to cover up another one. It was the most recent thing done to this room, so perhaps it was of significance.

(OOC: I keep forgetting about Sunset, so thanks, Addy for thinking of Killer. If Sunset did come in with us, let me know. )

DM's Note - I forgot Sunset too. She would be with you so I will have to do a post for her.

"'Fore we go knockin' down da doors, makin' a rucko', need t' ask da tree o' yous if'n ya 'ave any scryin' magic t' see beyon' da door." Char paused, blinked, and then said, "Well, do ya?"

Jal had been studying the room and, had he been called on to admit it, marveling at the accuracy of Gwanelle’s arcane reproduction of it days earlier, and it took him a moment to register the question that had been asked. The strange mold pattern on that wall and the obvious state of disrepair of those doors along the southern corridor had also set his mind to wondering – especially given the near overpowering scent of pine in the place – what, other than imperials and sorcerers, might be lurking in this place. Oddly enough, though, there were still no spirits wandering about as he might have expected… not even Wynter…

"Reconnaissance was never my forte,” Adrian seemed to be loathe to even suggest subtlety, “I do have the means to detect any traces of the Reds beyond there. One moment."

The urchin mage watched as Valentine traced out a detect magic spell then, as he waited to hear what his haughty counterpart might have to report, he turned his gaze to Char and the rest. “I have no way of seeing beyond the door from here,” he said quietly, “but I belive I can get past it without needing it to be opened…” His ice-hued eyes flicked back to Adrian for an instant, still waiting for any reports of power that he may have detected. “…And I should be able to inform you of whatever lies beyond, magical or no.”

((OOC: Assuming no objections and perhaps even a “go ahead” and also that Adrian’s detect magic spell doesn’t reveal anything that would make this an obviously bad idea…))

Jal nodded and drew in an almost tentative breath as he scrutinized the door, searching for the slightest gap and deciding which of them he might best utilize. One hand dipped into his pack and, even as his lips moved to begin the incantation, drew out a bit of gauze and a small piece of paper. He stuffed the guaze into a hole in his tattered cloak and quickly struck the bit of paper between thumb and forefinger as if he were snapping his fingers. The flashpaper hissed and disappeared into a wisp of smoke and it was into those curling tendrils that the Spellbinder scribed the gestures that completed the Wraithform spell… he shuddered (almost visibly) as his form shifted from the corporeal to ethereal, making him as intangible as the spirits that he often spoke with. Now unhindered by the constraints of physical form Jal Spellbinder nodded his ghostly head at the rest and disappeared through the narrow space between the door and its jamb….

((OOC: Yay! I’m useful! …. Okay, wraithform and through the door… Jal will scout the passages/rooms beyond for as far as he thinks is practical, then return and inform the others of his findings…))

They were making progress and Kilgim was happy about it. So far his spell had done its work well, but he wasn't exactly certain whether it had really been needed or not. The tunnel itself was probably fairly efficient in silencing the sounds they would've been making.

Like everyone else, the warrior-priest quickly recognized their entrypoint from the arcane map Gwanele had shown them earlier - it was the old storage room for uniforms and such, with only one exit (well now two).

By the time everyone had entered the room, the silence had expired and the sudden rush of sounds took Kilgim somewhat by surprise, but he also felt a wave of relief as well. Despite the knowledge of the spell's workings and his complete trust in his god, a little paranoia was quick to sneak in when all sound was totally blocked out.

Before the bald dwarf had a chance to say anything, Dapple and the huge gladiator had pulled the door off its hinges, but fortunately for them all - nearly silently. Me could've prayed fer the silence again, but whatever suits ye. With a grin and shrug, he moved to the others to hear the plan.

Apparently there was another door ahead and this time the same trick would not work. The metal parts were simply too corroded to come apart quietly. Again, Kilgim was not quick enough to take action, not that it mattered. It was good to have the magic wielders with them. Their resources would without a doubt prove to be useful later on too. And being honest to himself, he had to admit he was interested in learning more of their magic and skill. The thought stung his heart, as it reminded the stout cleric of Arien's dear sister, Alloryn. Hope yer safe n'sound lassie.
And Kilgim didn't have to wait long. In fact he didn't have to wait at all as first one of the mages did his magic only to be followed by the other. Though a conduct of magical powers himself, the priest did not recognize the strange moves and syllabes used by Adrian to cast his spell, nor did he notice anything happening. The former Red had told them he could find out whether there were other Reds waiting behind the door... Hope ye do, lad. Hope ye do.
The results of Gwanele's pupil's spell were far easier to notice as his body seemed to turn into air or mist. In the dark, Kilgim could barely notice the ghastly figure as it headed towards the door. Interestin', Jal. Interestin' indeed. Me wonders where ye've sneaked in under the cover o'yer spell? Dwan knows o'yer skills fer sure, but no 'arm in notin' it down.
As Jal slipped through the door, Kilgim turned to face the others and then looked Char in the eye and whispered. "If ye think it'll be needed, ol' friend, me can brin' back the silence a few more times. Still it does drain me strength n' limit the use o' other prayers. But me should 'ave no problems in 'ealin' anyone even if me did cast a couple o' more such spells.

Char watched as Valentine went to work, but saw nothing of the spell effects. It raised questions of doubt in his mind until he reminded himself that not all magic was accompanied by the pop and bang of that which is shown at carnivals. Then, it was Jal's turn.

The ranger felt strange around the shattered man, but he had made the decision to put that feeling aside in the interest of getting Alloryn back to her brother and friends as well as completing the mission. So he found it a little odd that he felt a might sorry for the strange sorcerer. Those feelings were quickly abated when Jal transformed himself into a wraith... the man could speak with the dead and become one of the undead!?

"If ye think it'll be needed, ol' friend, me can brin' back the silence a few more times. Still it does drain me strength n' limit the use o' other prayers. But me should 'ave no problems in 'ealin' anyone even if me did cast a couple o' more such spells."

Kilgim's words broke Char from his unease and he nodded, thankful for the dwarf's suggestion. It was good to know what you had at your disposal when it came down to decision-making time, and he'd been afraid that the more Kilgim prayed for help, the less likely they'd all be to receive magical healing.

"Dat be a goo' ting, frien'. Cause I tink we be needin' da 'ealin' a fair amoun' dis day."

Placing a hand on Kilgim's shoulder, Char glanced over at the silent knight and watched his grim study of door. Arien was certainly preoccupied with Alloryn's unknown predicament and the ranger suddenly realized just how responsible Arien had been by dumping the role of leader on his shoulders for the time. With a slight shake of his head, Char glanced over at Dapple and repeated the action. This was not looking good.

Sunset is scared. Dapple can feel the emotions pouring from the tiny dragon on her shoulder like a rain shower. The explanation comes in image flashes within Dapple’s mind. The smell – it reminds her of the lab she was a prisoner in for most of her life. Images of Orlando torturing her come unbidden to her mind, and she is shaking ever so slightly.

Valentine completed his spell and looked around. There was no magic on the doorway or within the room besides that which the party had brought with them. There was something odd though, like a whisper of a wind within the senses of the spell – like an air current of magic that seemed to flow above them. If he looked for it directly, it wasn’t there but in his peripheral vision, it flittered like pixie dust in the breeze.

Jal completed his spell and become ghostlike to his companions. That strong vanishes as his senses become dulled but the incorporeal essence of the spell. But while that fades away, he feels a strong pull – like a strong wind from above - drawing him up towards the keep and tower. Were Jal on the ground floor and in this state, he would be hard pressed to avoid being dragged with it.

Like something is summoning everything undead to it he thought.

Slipping through the small crack of the door, Jal moves out into the hallway. There is no one out here waiting there arrival and no signs of traps laid beyond the door. He continues to move to the west, noticing that there is a door on his left, just before the stairs, that is slightly ajar. He looks into the room.

There is Wynter, standing beside a long wooden table. She seems to be staring at the table, at the stain of liquids on it. Jal can see some of the stains are blood, but there is another kind as well, a thicker green liquid that has adhered to the table. Jal doesn’t spend much time examining it though, for Wynter appears almost solid to him, like he could reach out and touch her, but when he tries his hand passes through her, like he is the ghost now, and she is alive.

“Do you see them, my love?”

Jal looks to where the dead girl is looking, straining to see what she means. Then it becomes clear to him. Two dead men’s souls are here in the room, but they are stretched thin across the floor and held down by what looks like roots coming from the ground. Only as he perceives them does he hear their wails of pain and anguish, as they are held down yet drawn upward to the tower as well.

“Can you help them Jal? Please make them stop screaming!”

(Jal – You have about 8 minutes of Wraithform left)

Meanwhile, as the rest of the party awaits the spellcaster’s return, Arien staggers slightly and stumbles – steadying himself on the wall. Kilgim and Char move to help him, inquiring as to what is wrong, but he moves away. “I don’t know…my head…feels …” he mumbles as he takes off his helm, lets his sword fall out of his hands and slumps down to the ground, rubbing his eyes as if in pain. “Alloryn … so dark…”

To Valentine’s detect magic, the Knight seems to start glowing. It comes and goes like a pulse.(6 minutes of magic vision left)

Then suddenly Arien stands up, looking about as surprised by his whereabouts, “What is this?” He says but his voice sounds odd - higher pitched, “Two places? How odd. Twins? Oh, this is delicious!” He steps forward in an odd exaggeratedly feminine walking pattern (picture the knight walking like Jessica Rabbit) looking over each of the party members as if seeing them for the first time. “Men! Oh, it has been so long since I have had men!”

Arien staggers again, clutching his head with both hands, “What is …” his voice sounds strained but normal again. (DetMag – light fades)

His face curls up into a savage mask of rage, (DetMag – light returns) his eyes fall upon Dapple, “An elf!” he spits with fury (and that strange voice again) launching himself at Dapple with arms extended like claws.

Sunset hisses and draws her wing back as if to strike. Dapple gets a very clear image of a woman lunging to attack her - a woman with talon like hands and greenish skin.

Having just turned his gaze from Arien Char catches the knight swaying out of the corner of his eye. Kilgim is just as quick to respond as the two move to aid the armored man. The ranger places a hand on Arien's chestplate and another on his shoulder.

"Wha's wrong der, Arien?" he asks while glancing over his shoulder and about the hall to see if there's some unseen attacker. "Be on da guard!" This was said to the others in the room and then he was focused on the knight once again. Despite Char's and Kilgim's offered aid, Arien backs away, his face a mask of confusion.

“I don’t know…my head…feels …” he mumbles as he takes off his helm, lets his sword fall out of his hands and slumps down to the ground, rubbing his eyes as if in pain. “Alloryn … so dark…”

Char's brow furrows and he looks to the dwarf for some explanation. He certainly isn't adept at deciphering this sort of thing and the cleric's experience with healing magics is likely more in tune with the knight's needs, so he hopes...

Then suddenly Arien stands up, looking about as surprised by his whereabouts, “What is this?” He says but his voice sounds odd - higher pitched, “Two places? How odd. Twins? Oh, this is delicious!” He steps forward in an odd exaggeratedly feminine walking pattern (picture the knight walking like Jessica Rabbit) looking over each of the party members as if seeing them for the first time. “Men! Oh, it has been so long since I have had men!”

Char is dumbfounded. He stands with his mouth open slightly, tense, like a rabbit ready to jump, but unsure of what he's to do.

Arien staggers again, clutching his head with both hands, “What is …” his voice sounds strained but normal again. (DetMag – light fades)

His face curls up into a savage mask of rage, (DetMag – light returns) his eyes fall upon Dapple, “An elf!” he spits with fury (and that strange voice again) launching himself at Dapple with arms extended like claws.

Sunset hisses and draws her wing back as if to strike and that's when Char knows what he has to do. He's a big man, maybe not like Maximus, but he's definitely born of strength. Taking Arien to the ground ought to be a task he was up for and seeing the knight as he was told Char that he was Arien no more. Leaping from the balls of his feet, the ranger wraps himself around the knight and uses all of his weight and might to pull him to the ground, wrapping him up in a bear hug.

"Kilgim! Da lad's gone a bi' off, no?" Char's words are growled through clenched teeth as he attempts this manuever, hoping that the dwarf has something to counter whatever it is that is effecting the knight.

Char will have to process the whole "elf" thing later. For now, his greatest concerns are that they have been discovered, Arien has been removed from the equation, and Jal is no where to be seen.

hmmm... nothing.
Adrian turns a bit around the room, picking up slight signals from everyone, pausing briefly to consider studying them, but decides against it. He had business to attend to... Still he passed his line of sight over everyone, just to make sure.

Strange...
He scoured his mind frantically to think what could be causing these strange signals, although his search was a bit haphazard. Finally his eyes set on the other caster, who looked to be gearing up for his own recon mission.

"Be cautious, Jal." he said with the first hint of co-operation shown towards the Spellbinder. "I can't pick it up exactly, but this place seems to pulse with magic. I don't like it when I don't know what's happening..."

And then Arien decided to have a fit of his own. This was bad.

“What is this?” He says but his voice sounds odd - higher pitched, “Two places? How odd. Twins? Oh, this is delicious!”

"DAMN!" Valentine cursed as he aimed his detection beam at the knight. "It's some sort of enchantment, but the bastard is smart. He's not holding it long enough for me to get ahold of what exactly he's doing. Restrai..."

too late
Char was already wrapping him up in a bear hug.

"No sense dispelling it..."

Valentine readies a plan B.

He's strong, but Arien outweighs him by quite a bit, especially in that armor. Char on the other hand...

Adrian quickly grabbed a pinch of powdered iron from his component pouch and hurled it up in the air. He began weaving his hands aimed at the ranger.

"You probably don't need this, Char, but I can't take that chance. Arien could be enchanted for some time to come. This might tingle a bit..."

(OOC: Enlarging Char )

Dapple’s nose twitched with irritation at every deliberate sniff of the air, but she pushed on. It was the only thing she could think to do while waiting Jal’s scouting mission, but with the second deep sniff, what flooded Dapple’s mind was not pine, but fear. It rippled over Dapple’s dead water of unfeeling (what appeared as calm to the others), and something sinister roiled under the surface.

Stopping her prowl of the room, Dapple reached up to pat the little creature trembling against her. “Keep calm, little monster,” she muttered, perhaps to herself as much as Sunset. As images of Orlando and torture flooded behind Dapple’s eyes, she blinked and shook her head, seeing Tonno’s gang and the Greens instead. “No, no,” she continued to mutter, “that’s not going to happen here. You’re free now, and if danger comes, well, you know how to find a good shadow, don’t you? You’ve seen me do it often enough, so it should be easy for a clever little thing like you.”

With Sunset’s protective coloring making her near invisible against Dapple’s mottled clothing, it may not have been clear who Dapple was speaking to, but she really didn’t care at the moment. Keeping emotions in check was an ingrained habit, a necessity for survival, but Sunset was channeling fear and panic into the little thief as fast as Dapple could will it away. It was all she could do to stand casually and stroke the little dragonet as she muttered to it.

No-one noticed the internal struggle, in any case, as Arien staggered, clutching his head. As Char and Kilgim moved to steady the knight, he evades them to slump down, mumbling about Alloryn in the dark. Dapple was so engrossed in the effort to keep herself and Sunset calm that she missed much of it, but Arien’s high pitched tone pierced her self- absorption.

“Men! Oh, it has been so long since I have had men!” Arien warbled in an unnatural falsetto, sounding a third rate bard playing a woman’s part. Then he staggered and clutched his head, exclaiming in his own voice, only to look towards Dapple as he did so.

His face curls up into a savage mask of rage, “An elf!” he spits with fury (and that strange voice again) launching himself at Dapple with arms extended like claws.

Sunset hisses and draws her wing back as if to strike. Dapple’s last coherent thought is a very clear image of a woman lunging to attack her - a woman with-talon like hands and greenish skin. The others may be moving to intercede, but Dapple is not conscious of anything but the rage pouring from behind a barrier ripped to shreds in her mind. Angerfearbetrayalloathing haze her vision with red as she takes a few steps back from the man she’d once come close to trusting. She seems to coil into herself, a snake preparing to strike.

“Liar!” she spits, her voice seeming to claw from the depths of her soul, just as she launches herself at the advancing Arien. As she rises from the ground in a leap, she twists, her right foot aimed at Arien’s head, just behind his ear. KILL HIM! roars the voice within, and Dapple is beyond resisting the urging anymore.

Maximas, one moment the happiest of the party, now found himself the most confused at what had turned from a simple scout mission by the two mages, into the Knight turning into a raving madman. Had the Red mage's from the keep discovered them and cast foul madness upon Arien. As Maximus stood confused as to what to do next, he heard words coming out of Arien’s mouth, Twins, Elf, something about men, but he paid them no mind, as Arien lunged at Dapple and Char moved to tackle him and Dapple with a cry of "liar" moved to attack Arien. With things totally out of control Maximus lunged to grab Dapple and stop the boy from reaching Arien. Somehow something had caused the two old friends to want to kill the other....